The Washington Nationals’ magic number for clinching the NL East is three.

The St. Louis Cardinals’ magic number for clinching the NL’s second wild card is four.

The teams’ next three games are against each other.

So you know what that means?

Champagne bottles could be popping in both clubhouses at Busch Stadium this weekend. On the same day, even.

The chances of a double clinching on Sunday actually are pretty good, in fact. Follow along:

1. The Cardinals and Nationals split the first two games of their three-game series.

2. The Nationals’ closest pursuer, the Atlanta Braves, drops one of its next two games against the New York Mets in Atlanta.

3. The Cardinals’ closest pursuer, the Los Angeles Dodgers, lose their next two games at home against the Colorado Rockies. The Cardinals’ other pursuer, the Milwaukee Brewers, loses one of its next two at home against the Houston Astros.

4. Going into Sunday then, the magic number for the Nationals and Cardinals would be down to one. Whoever wins the series finale would clinch, of course. The loser would, too, if the team behind it—or teams, in the Cardinals’ case—also lost.

Pop! Pop!

Some serious carpet cleaning could be required before the Cincinnati Reds, who already have done their regular-season celebrating, come to St. Louis for a regular-season-ending series that begins Monday.

The Cardinals, however, have hinted that their wild-card celebration would be somewhat restrained, at least compared to the scene at Turner Field after the Braves clinched a wild card Wednesday night. The Braves’ clubhouse partied like the team had won the pennant rather than merely secured a spot in a one-and-done playoff. But the Braves had the bitter disappointment of 2011 to wash away.

The Cardinals partied four times in a month last year on the way to winning the World Series. To go crazy over a wild card would seem over the top.

Maybe they’ll share a “couple of beers” Skip Schumaker told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and save the champagne for a more significant achievement.

If that were to happen, the Cards could end up facing the Nationals at Busch Stadium again next Sunday. That would be in the opener of the Division Series. Only one clubhouse carpet will need cleaning when it is over.